The Oracle's Secret (The Oracle Saga Book 1) by Amber Darke Read Free Book Online Page A

him, make him mine. Droplets of water glistened on his skin in the soft, glowing light. He was naked, and even though I didn’t see his face, in the vision I knew that he was smiling at me, naked too before him. He stood in front of me and I pulled him closer, running my hands across his broad, firm chest, skimming the knot of his tattoo just above his heart. I wanted him so much. I wrapped my arms around his waist and drew him close to kiss him. The touch of his wet skin against mine made me shiver with anticipation, and yet at the same time I was warm, so warm I almost couldn’t bear it.
    He laid me down - on a hard, cold surface but I didn’t care - and we held each other close. His hands roamed over my body, leaving sparks in their wake, making me gasp softly and lean into his touch. He kissed me deeply, blocking out everything else until all I knew or remembered was that kiss, like a warm, sensual eternity. I didn’t need to breathe, I didn’t need my heart to beat, all I needed was for his tongue and mine to entwine, our lips to collide. I felt as though my heart and his were beating together and I never wanted it to end.
    When he pulled away I sighed in disappointment, but his mouth, hot and moist and soft, only moved downward, dropping kisses like tiny explosions down my throat and across my collarbone, while his hands clutched my hips, holding me close. A sweet ache spread like wildfire through me, gathering into a pinpoint of delicious need between my legs. Oh god, I wanted him. I licked my lips.
    His kisses moved lower, until he took my nipple in his mouth and licked, and I lost control, yelping wordlessly. I felt him laugh against my breast, and he kept licking, his tongue moving in slow, firm circles until I thought I would die from want.
    ‘Please...’ I gasped, and he moved to kiss my lips again, cupping my head in his hand while I wrapped my arms around him, feeling the taut muscles of his back beneath my arms. His other hand moved between my legs, found the slick wetness of my arousal. His fingers danced and I almost came right then, but he took them away again, leaving me moaning and arching towards him. He shifted and I felt his erection pressing against my thigh.
    ‘I want you,’ I said. ‘Oh god, I want you...’
    I stumble as my foot catches on a rabbit hole, and groan in annoyance. How could I have let myself get so distracted? Didn’t I just decide that I was going to be patient about this? I struggle to bring myself back to the present - this wasn’t even a vision, just a memory of one, but it’s hard to shake. There’s still an ache at the centre of me as I pull my foot out of the rabbit hole and follow the dim shapes of Steele and Tarian onward.
    It seems like we’ve been walking in the dark for hours. I’m tired and cold and I’ve had a really intense day and all I want to do is go to bed. I’m beginning to doubt that Steele really knows where he’s going when he raises a hand to halt us, and points the way down into a little hollow, where there’s an oak tree.
    ‘This is it,’ he says. ‘The portal.’
    ‘It’s a tree,’ I say.
    Yeah, I know that’s pretty inane but I’ve had a really long day.
    ‘This tree grew from a branch cut from the Major Oak,’ he says. ‘If I can perform this spell right, it should transport us to the actual Major Oak, in Sherwood itself.’
    ‘Let’s hope you can perform the spell right, then,’ I say.
    The Major Oak, legend has it, is the tree where Robin Hood and his Merry Men camped. That’s pretty common knowledge. What’s not common knowledge is the fact that it’s also the dividing line between the mundane Sherwood Forest - the one with the visitor centre and the cafe and the guided walks - and the magical Sherwood Forest. It’s not accessible to anyone without magical powers, and they have no way of knowing it’s there, but if a person with magic knows how, they can use the Major Oak to get through to a Sherwood that’s a lot